63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

[Peter M.]

I am aware that painting of black Kelsey Hayes steel wheels was performed using a dipping process which left a dull black finish - quite evident on the rear (inside) section of my original spare wheel - complete with drip lines left when the wheel was dried. That said - the front of the wheel is nicer gloss black with no drip lines in evidence. What was the actual paint process - dip the rear half then spray the front gloss black?

Any factual detail will be greatly appreciated!

[Harry S.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

I am aware that painting of black Kelsey Hayes steel wheels was performed using a dipping process which left a dull black finish - quite evident on the rear (inside) section of my original spare wheel - complete with drip lines left when the wheel was dried. That said - the front of the wheel is nicer gloss black with no drip lines in evidence. What was the actual paint process - dip the rear half then spray the front gloss black?

Any factual detail will be greatly appreciated!

Peter, as far as I know the entire wheel was dipped in semi gloss. Then the outside was sprayed with gloss. In 63/64 if you ordered blackwall tires the wheels were sprayed with body color gloss. White wall tires caused the outside to be sprayed gloss black. Others can chime in on 65/66.

[Gary C.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

Peter,

Blueprint for wheel assembly, in Colvin's book calls for prime in notes multiple times with reference to spec for '63 wheels.

Gary
....

[Ronald L.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

I seriously doubt these were dipped. The entire wheel would have runs and lots of them. And tank dipping would not have been the process anyway - no no & no.
The processes from 'back in the day were - trade name bonderite, and ecoat, or you sprayed them. No supplier had the capital to do multi million e coat or bonderite systems back then.

I have lots of 65-66 steel wheels and I never saw runs of any type - in fact - I have a 65 wheel with white wall that never left the tire tub.

It has match marks where the factory indicated the operator was to put the wheel weight.

No runs on either side of the beautifully new white wall - sorry - more cars go WW than what everyone chases these days.

Post some pics of what you have... good high resolution and I'll have a look.

[Peter M.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

I seriously doubt these were dipped. The entire wheel would have runs and lots of them. And tank dipping would not have been the process anyway - no no & no.
The processes from 'back in the day were - trade name bonderite, and ecoat, or you sprayed them. No supplier had the capital to do multi million e coat or bonderite systems back then.

I have lots of 65-66 steel wheels and I never saw runs of any type - in fact - I have a 65 wheel with white wall that never left the tire tub.

It has match marks where the factory indicated the operator was to put the wheel weight.

No runs on either side of the beautifully new white wall - sorry - more cars go WW than what everyone chases these days.

Post some pics of what you have... good high resolution and I'll have a look.

-----Here are two pictures - perhaps not good for your purpose - in the full rear shot at the 6 O'Clock position you can see then run marks

[Dan A.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

I believe in days gone by John Hinckley has written here and elsewhere describing the road wheel prime dip process.

[Duke W.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

Peter, as far as I know the entire wheel was dipped in semi gloss. Then the outside was sprayed with gloss. In 63/64 if you ordered blackwall tires the wheels were sprayed with body color gloss. White wall tires caused the outside to be sprayed gloss black. Others can chime in on 65/66.

A spray process could cause the run assuming the wheel was installed on a fixture in the position shown in the photo. These weren't concours primer jobs. The finish gloss coat on the outside was probably done at St. Louis. Painting the wheels body color for standard rayon blackwalls or the optional nylon blackwalls was a '63 process only. Beginning in '64 steel wheels got a gloss black top coat on the outside face regardless of tire choice.

I never liked the look of body color wheels with blackwalls, and it complicated the production process, unnecessarily IMO. About ninety percent of '63 production was ordered with whitewalls.

Duke

[Harry S.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

When I restored my 63 wheels, I wire brushed them, cleaned them, then sprayed them with John Deere Blitz Black. When dried I sprayed the outer side with Gloss Black. Came out nice, no deductions at the National.

[Wally A.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

according to Nolan Adam's corvette restoration guide volume 2, page 96 , corvette wheels which had option #P 91 wheels were
painted inside and out body color.

[Wally A.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

this option P 91 is of course applys for the 63 wheel only.

[Duke W.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

according to Nolan Adam's corvette restoration guide volume 2, page 96 , corvette wheels which had option #P 91 wheels were
painted inside and out body color.

P91 was the nylon blackwall tire option, not a wheel option, but if Noland says both sides of the wheels were painted body color on '63s with either the base rayon blackwalls or the P91 nylon blackwalls, I'll go with that. I thought it may have been outside only.

Duke

[John H.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

In production, steel wheels were supplied by Kelsey-Hayes raw to St. Louis-Corvette by the rail car load, jammed-in herringbone-style; they were unloaded at the main passenger/truck plant and run through the black primer "flow-coat" system hanging on hooks (think of lots of showerheads spraying black primer in an enclosed booth). After baking, the outer face of the wheels got a coat of high-gloss wheel enamel (black, color, or argent silver depending on year, options and application), were baked again, and transferred in racks to the Corvette plant, where the tires were mounted and balanced and the wheels were installed on the car. There were no wheel painting facilities of any kind at the Corvette plant.

[Dan A.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

John do you recall what sort of temperature they were baked at?

[John H.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

John do you recall what sort of temperature they were baked at?

The bake following the flow-coat process was 45 minutes @ 325*F; the final bake following the gloss enamel application to the outer face of the wheel was 30 minutes @ 275*F.

[Dan A.]

Re: 63-66 Steel Wheels - Factory Dipping - Kelsey Hayes or St Louis ??

Thanks John. While were on this tangent. Roughly how many wheels where baked at one time?